California baby boomers hardest hit by 'Great Recession', study shows

A new study reveals what many middle-aged Californians have long suspected -- when hard times hit, baby boomers are the first to lose their jobs and health benefits.

The analysis by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research looked at California data on the uninsured between 2007 and 2009. Of the roughly 700,000 Californians to lose health insurance during this time, the greatest increase was among residents ages 45 to 64, the report said.

"Whether because mid-career workers are viewed as too expensive or because there is a deeper bias against older workers, the data suggests the ax is first to fall on the baby-boom generation," said Shana Alex Lavarreda, lead author of the study and the center's director of health insurance studies. "This might open the door for policymakers to question the fairness of hiring and firing in the next economic cycle."

The study also notes discrepancies among California counties.

During the 2007-2009 period, counties with high unemployment and lower household income saw the biggest rise in the uninsured population due to a large drop in job-based coverage and only a small increase in public coverage.

The report's County-Level Recession Index placed Los Angeles and Riverside counties in the "moderate-impact" category, alongside 14 other California counties. San Bernardino County landed in the more serious "medium-impact" section, which included 16 counties.

Eleven counties -- including Kern, Fresno and San Joaquin counties -- ended up in the "high-impact" category. The "low-impact" section has 15 counties, including Orange, San Diego and Santa Barbara counties.

The report also includes rates of the uninsured for all or part of the past year for the various categories. In 2007, for example, the rate of uninsured in the low-recession impact category was 19.1 percent. But it rose to 20.8 percent in 2009.

The biggest change occurred in the medium-impact category. The rate of uninsured there jumped to 26.2 percent in 2009 from 20.8 percent two years earlier.

The report also offers a breakdown of the uninsured by age.

In the moderate-impact category, only 14.4 percent of residents ages 18 and younger were among the uninsured in 2009. For residents ages 19 to 25 the rate was 19.7 percent, and for those ages 26 to 44 the rate was 41.6 percent. In the final age category -- those ages 45 to 64 -- the rate was 24.4 percent.

"Tell me something I don't know," said Robin McCarthy, executive director of Women at Work, a Pasadena-based career and job resource center. "Many of these people are facing the struggle, 'Do I pay my rent or buy health insurance?' People need to have better access to health insurance. There has to be some solution for individuals who cannot afford it. What do they do ... where do they turn?"

McCarthy said Obamacare is also a big question mark.

"It's great for younger people because so many young people can stay on their parents' health plan," she said. "But for older Americans who are unemployed, they don't have any alternative. Will they be able to afford it through the exchanges? We don't know."